Failed Bank of America Loan Modifications are Short Sales in Disguise

I was reading a client response letter this morning. My former client wrote, "Elizabeth was excellent and made our short sale process so much better than it could have been. We have heard horror stories . . . " And it made me wonder how does she really know how awful it could have been? I try not to focus on the negative crap in a short sale. I don't always share with a seller every little horrid thing that happens either because I try to spare feelings. But the truth of it is short sales are not always a pleasant experience. When things take a left turn, it's often the messenger who is left dodging bullets.

Diplomacy will only take an agent so far, though. Sometimes, you've just gotta lay it on the line and tell it like it is. Not everybody likes that approach. Not everybody wants to take responsibility for their own actions, either, and it's often easier to point fingers and try to reflect blame, rather than looking at the real culprit. People create so much of their own misery. But one can't tell clients that because they don't want to hear it and it doesn't change a single thing.

What they do need to hear is if you think your bank was terrible when you tried to do a loan modification, the attitude is slightly different in a short sale. And the response time is faster. Take Bank of America, for example. I have clients describe in excruciating detail what they would like to do to Bank of America. It's not pretty. It makes me wonder why I don't see more dried-up eggs splattered on Bank of America signs around Sacramento.

But if Bank of America rejected your loan modification, it will most likely do a short sale. That's the unvarnished truth. A Bank of America short sale is so much easier than a loan modification and more likely to succeed. The bank wants you to get rid of the property. It wants you to dump that house so badly it might even pay you to do it. That's how much Bank of America wants to erase its underwater inventory from the balance sheets.

So, don't make the mistake of thinking that just because your loan mod was denied that you can't do a short sale because it's not true. In fact, a loan mod rejection increases your chances of success with Bank of America. Come see a different side of Bank of America. Talk to this Sacramento short sale agent who closes a lot of Bank of America short sales. There are many different types of Bank of America short sales. Maybe one of those short sales is right for you?

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Certified HAFA Specialist

 

My Sacramento Real Estate Listings

Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.

Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.

Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.